Harry Potter and the Fight for the Light
by japkleine
Summary: Starts right after Book six and goes completely AU. Harry gets to know the real reason of Dumbledore's death and Snape's and Draco's role in it. A Severus/Harry mentorship develops. Also features Ron, Hermione and Ginny. Most focus will be on the relationship between Snape, Draco and Harry. No Slash, however.
1. Chapter 1

**I am just playing with J.K. Rowlings world. All characters, places, names and things recognizable belong to her and her alone.**

**I will try to update every other week, hopefully faster, but I am in the middle of my final exams in college and don't have much time. I will try, however.**

Chapter One:

Harry sat in his room in Privet Drive, thinking nothing. He couldn't think of anything but despair. Dumbledore was dead. The greatest wizard the Wizarding World had ever seen was gone. He would be of no help against Voldemort anymore. How could he fulfill the quest, Dumbledore had given him? How to find the Horcruxes? He knew, that they would not make it on their own. They were just kids, how could they stand up to a powerful dark wizard like Voldemort. Of course, Dumbledore trusted him and thought that he would be up to the part. But Harry knew better. They hadn't even finished their education yet. And he knew, that he couldn't go back to Hogwarts. It was too dangerous to return now. It would be only a matter of weeks, maybe one or two months, and the ministry and with that Hogwarts, would be in the hands of Voldemort.

Harry thought back on that fateful night, when they had been looking for Slytherin's locket. His fist crashed on the table. So stupid, he thought. What a waste of time. It had not even been the real locket, they had found on the bottom of the basin. The draining of the basin had left Dumbledore so weak, that he couldn't defend himself, when they had come back to Hogwarts. Harry had looked on helplessly, hidden under his Invisible Cloak, as Dumbledore got surrounded by Draco Malfoy and the gang of Death Eaters. He had been horrorstruck, when Severus Snape had come out in the open and had performed the curse that had taken Dumbledore's life. He had not been able to move a muscle nor to defend himself or Dumbledore. Thinking of Snape and Malfoy just made Harry angrier. He jumped up and started pacing, up and down. Suddenly, he heard a sound from the room next door. He froze. But then a loud snore reverberated throughout the house and he relaxed again, restarting his left off pacing. He opened the window to let in a little fresh air, because he felt hot flushes coloring his cheeks, now that he thought of the two traitors. He turned around and picked up a little box from the table. In the box was a golden locket. Upon seeing it, Harry felt the abated anger flare up again. It was just not fair.

It was nearly midnight now and Harry still felt no desire to go to sleep. What wouldn't he give for a chance of getting revenge on Snape and Malfoy. It was frustrating to stay in the house and do nothing. But he had promised Dumbledore to stay at his Aunt's house until he would turn seventeen. His birthday was in two days. He would have to endure two miserable days with the Dursleys. They had been even more intolerable, after he came home from Hogwarts. The only bright spot he could make out at the horizon was wedding of Bill and Fleur, which was to take place sometime in August. He was sure that he would be attending, since he planned on travelling to the Weasleys on his birthday anyway. Then, finally, nobody had the right to tell him anything anymore and to forbid him to eat, sleep, drink and a lot of other things. The clock on his nightstand struck twelve and with a sigh, Harry went to bed. He closed his eyes and tried to sleep. but sleep didn't come for a very long time.

The next two days weren't happy for Harry. Aunt Petunia seemed to have discovered a new and nastier side in herself and found harder and more tedious work for Harry to do in the Garden. She seemed to enjoy that he was sweating, while Dudley was sitting under a sunscreen and drinking sweet, cool sodas and licking ice cream. Not once did she ask Harry to come into the house to cool off. Harry didn't complain. He knew it was pointless. On the second day, after he had mowed the lawn, weeded the garden, got rid of several moles that had recently inhabited Aunt Petunia's garden and finally distributed new gravel in the driveway, all the while having Dudley sitting around, singing silly songs and haunting Harry about his thin frame and the too large clothes he wore, he trudged upstairs, making it barely into his room and to his bed. Not even after he was done with his chores had Aunt Petunia given him something to drink or to eat. But right now Harry was too tired to think about that. All he wanted was to got to bed and sleep for about twenty hours.

When he woke up, it was pitch dark in the room. Harry lay very still in his bed and listened. There was someone downstairs. He could rather feel than hear someone creeping upstairs. Slowly the feeling of someone magical coming nearer got stronger and Harry felt after his wand, which he had deposited on his nightstand. He gripped it firmly and pointed it toward the door. He had only done so, when the door opened slowly. Harry couldn't see anything, but now he felt a very strong magical presence in standing in the door.

It came without warning. A jet of bright light flew towards him and everything became pitch black.

Slowly, Harry came to his senses. The sun was shining through high-arched windows. The room he was in was richly decorated. The bed was a four-poster bed with thick silver curtains. The wood of the bed was painted in a bright green. There was a small sitting group at one of the windows and in the fireplace was a fire going. It could have been a cozy and comfortable place for Harry after the cramped room at the Dursleys, was it not for the fact, that he was magically bound to the bed. He couldn't move a muscle, even though he really tried. Who had brought him here, he thought. What was he doing here? Why was he here and why was he bound? The answer to the last question came a few minutes later through the door. It opened and in came a tall thin person with curtains of black hair, a sallow face and a hooked nose. Harry went rigid. It was a good thing that he was bound, he would have ripped out the other man's throat with his bare hand.

"Snape," he spat. He felt unnatural hatred and loathing flaring up in his stomach and he glared at the loathsome figure.

Severus Snape walked into the room, conjured up a chair and sat down next to the bed. "How are you doing, Mr. Potter?" he asked genially. Harry was furious. How could this monster be so calm? "What are you doing here? What do you want? You want to kill me like you did Dumbledore? Go ahead, kill me. Lord Voldemort will be happy, I think. Finally no one that will fight against him and his will to conquer the world. If you want this on your conscious, than so be it." Harry looked at Snape defiantly and waited for the explosion.

The explosion never came. Snape continued to watch him in a calm way and waited. Harry didn't know what to think of it and he was about to start saying more, when the door opened again and another person walked in. This time it was Draco Malfoy. Harry nearly threw a fit. He was so outraged, that he couldn't talk at all. He expected Malfoy to come over to him, haunt him and jeer at him for his inexperience in fighting Dark Wizards and being overwhelmed so quickly.

But Malfoy only walked over to Snape, after looking briefly at Harry, and stood next to the chair, Snape was sitting in. For a long moment nothing was said and the room was very quiet. Then Snape spoke.

"Harry, I have brought you here on Dumbledore's orders." When Harry tried to speak and ask questions, Snape held up a hand.

"Stop talking. Let me explain." Snape looked at him intently and Harry stayed silent. Snape's voice was so unlike anything, Harry had heard from him so far in the classroom. It was creepy. It gave Harry goose bumps, because he was sure that this boded nothing good.

"I understand that you are angry. I understand that you mourn Dumbledore. And I understand that you want nothing more than to get the chance to kill Draco and me." From the inside of his robes, Snape withdrew several small glass vials filled with what looked like white smoke. Harry knew that they were memories. "I want you to look at these memories. They are Albus's memories. I can assure you that these are true, but you probably won't believe me. Albus told me, that he showed you how a tampered memory looked like, so I believe you will see that I speak the truth." He looked at Harry apprehensively and asked, "Can I loose your bonds now without you trying to kill us?" Harry had conflicting feelings in his chest. But he had no wand and so he knew that for now the only thing he could do was to do what Snape told him. It didn't taste well with him, but there was no other choice.

"Will I get my wand back, when I have watched the memories?" he asked.

Severus nodded. "I promise you that."

"How can I be sure of that?" Harry asked scathingly.

Severus didn't answer, but instead got up to his feet, went over to Harry and unbound him. Then he placed his hand on Harry's chest and spoke in an ancient. Harry gaped. He knew this language. Dumbledore had told him about this. The only Wizarding ritual that was performed in this language was the oldest and most pure form of magic one could perform. And what was more, only true wizards and light ones at that had the ability to perform it. If dark wizards would attempt to perform the ritual they would instantly become dust, because the magic didn't suffer dark wizards to misuse this kind of magic. This was a clever thing of Snape to do, Harry thought. He had to believe that Snape was telling the truth, because he could not have murdered Dumbledore and the performed the ritual and lived to tell the tale if he was a dark wizard. Dumbledore must have given his consent before the fatal scene on the astronomy tower happened; this was the only explanation.

"I think I will have to believe you then," Harry answered curtly. "Let me see the memories."

Snape went to a nearby table and poured the memories in pensieve standing there. Harry went over to the table, bowed his head until he touched the liquid mass and was sucked into it.

Severus and Draco stood motionless in the room and waited. They didn't talk. Each of them had their own thoughts to deal with and these thoughts had a lot do with, how Harry would react to the truths he would see in those memories. There was so much at stake, Severus thought. Harry has to understand; he has to accept my role as a spy and Draco's return to the light. If they wanted to defeat the Dark Lord, they had to get Harry on their side. There was so much, this boy needed to know and only he, Severus, could give him the information.

After a very long time, Harry arrived back out of the pensieve. He stood with his back to them, looking out of the window. He didn't speak. He didn't move. Neither did Draco and Severus. Then, finally, Harry did turn around. He focused on some spot between Severus and Draco and started to speak.

"I believe," he whispered. "I don't understand all of it, but I believe." Then he broke down and cried.

Severus started to walk over to the boy, but Draco was faster. In the blink of an eye the pale haired boy was at Harry's side, kneeling next to him and putting his arm around him. He was whispering calming nonsense into his ears. It was so unlike Draco that Severus couldn't help but stare at him. What brought that on? Then he remembered. He remembered the night two days ago, when Narcissa had come into his room. She had told him a secret, a secret that Lucius and herself had kept so well, that nobody had ever suspected anything: She was Harry's godmother.

In secret, Narcissa had been one of Lily's very best friends in school and after Harry's birth, Lily had, without James's consent, made Narcissa Harry's godmother, so that there would be someone to take care of him, if there should anything happen to her and James. She hadn't trusted Black and Pettigrew and, after what had then happened, she had been very smart in this respect.

True, Black had not been the Secret Keeper, but he would have not been a could influence on Harry and Severus was secretly glad, that Sirius didn't have any hold on the boy. Yes, Harry had an impossible huge ability to love. He had never seen a person with so much love inside him. Not even Lily, and she had been one of the purest so far. He had to admit to himself, even though he could not show it, that Harry right now must be the purest person on earth. And this was to be his greatest weapon against Voldemort.

Severus looked back to the boys. He had become distracted while he had mused over the astonishing things he had learned the last few days from Lucius and Narcissa. Draco now sat on the ground, Harry head in his lap and stroking his hair. This did not seem ridiculous and weird, but it seemed like it came natural to him. Harry was his godbrother, and so it was only right that Draco should comfort him in times like these. Harry evidently hadn't even realized that it was Draco who was holding him, because he had his eyes tightly shut and tears were running down his cheeks.

The door opened quietly and Narcissa Malfoy walked into the room. She stopped when she saw her son and godson on the floor. She looked at Severus and smiled. Then she walked over to Harry and Draco and gently touched Draco's arm. Draco looked up and saw her. Narcissa let herself gracefully down on the floor and took over from Draco. Draco got up and went over to where Severus was standing.

"Do you think he will be all right?" he whispered to Severus.

Severus shrugged his shoulders. "I think so. I hope, your mom can explain everything to him. At the least the bit about her being his godmother and you being his godbrother now. Hopefully the knowledge that he won't have to return to the Dursleys now, will help a little with him coming around to see the truth."

"You acted very convincingly on the night of the battle," Draco said. "I really hope that Harry can forget that. Otherwise it will eat him up and he won't be any help at all in getting Voldemort finished."

Severus nodded his head. "You are right. He has to understand, even if he doesn't like it. Maybe we can work on something to make the transition easier for him. Let us think of the Horcruxes again and see, if we can help him in that department a little bit."

They both turned their attention back toward the scene on the floor. Harry had stopped crying and was now sleeping in Narcissa's arms. She was humming softly and rocking him gently back and forth. Her look was everything, Severus needed and he tucked on Draco's sleeve.

"Come on, Draco. Let's leave your mother and her godson alone for some time."

He put an arm around Draco's shoulder and walked him out of the room.

**Authors note:**

**So this is the first chapter of a story, that I hope you all will like.**

**Again, I don't know how often I can update but I will try to update as much as possible and as fast as the muse is willing to give me ideas. If you have any ideas, then please review the story and give me constructive feedback, which will be greatly appreciated.**


	2. Chapter 2

**I am just playing with J.K. Rowlings world. All characters, places, names and things recognizable belong to her and her alone.**

**Thank you for the reviews and interests in the story, I still hope to update as fast as possible.**

Chapter Two

Narcissa stayed in Harry's room on the ground and cradled her godson in her lap. It hurt her to see that this boy of almost seventeen years already had endured so much. Her face darkened, as she thought of the things Severus told her about Harry. About the abuse he had suffered at the Dursleys and the many emotional ups and downs during his school years. She had cried together with him, when he told her under tears how he had to be so mean to Lily's son that he hated him even more than the Dursleys. She couldn't understand the pain Severus had had to go through all these years. For the sake of his double role as spy he had to show the world that he despised the offspring of James Potter, his nemesis in Hogwarts.

She herself had been devastated, when Lucius had told her of the murder of her best friend. Lucius was a Death Eater and she could not tell her of her loss. The fact that he was in Azkaban right now, was very good. She hoped that she didn't have to deal with him anymore. It had been his fault that Draco had been dragged into the whole mess. Now her son was marked as a Death Eater also and had been given an impossible task to fulfill which in the end had resulted in the death of Albus Dumbledore and the flight of Severus and Draco from Hogwarts. Draco's dislike of Harry had been real until a few days ago when Narcissa had let him in on her most guarded secret. Immediately he had renounced his Death Eater ties, at least in front of Narcissa and Severus, and had agreed to help Harry in his quest. The quest, which Severus was aware of. Narcissa didn't know the details but she trusted Severus completely. Now it was paramount to convince Harry of the truth and to get him on their side. She had listened at the door and knew what Harry had said when he reappeared from the Pensieve and now she could plan her strategy. She wasn't a Slytherin for nothing, so she knew how to achieve her goals.

She continued stroking Harry hair. After a long time, Harry finally stirred. He had rolled onto his back and his head was comfortably placed in her lap. He blinked several times and the fixed her with his stare. He didn't move. He was silent for a few moments and then started to speak.

"You are my godmother, right?"

Narcissa was perplexed. How did he know about that? Her amazement must have shown on her face because he smiled slightly. "I saw it in the Pensieve. Dumbledore knew about it from Severus. I know the whole story. You don't have to tell me."

Narcissa looked at him with tears in his eyes. "Can you forgive me for not being there when you parents died?" When Harry nodded, she continued, "I could not do anything. My hands were bound with Lucius being there. You know that I had to marry him, it was an arranged marriage, and I had no choice. I had to make sure that Draco was safe, I hope you understand that." Harry nodded again and then looked at her in an unsure way.

"Can I now stay with you?" he asked. As an answer Narcissa took him in her arms and held him there for a long time. She had started crying again and also Harry had tears in her eyes again.

"Come on, let's sit down over there," she said and pointed to a little table and two chairs in front of on of the huge windows. They went over there and sat down. Harry faced her and then asked, "What about Severus and Draco? I said some really terrible things to them. I didn't know the truth then, but still …, they were terrible." Narcissa put her hand comfortingly on his arm. "Don't worry. They will be fine. They did some terrible things too. Of course you were mad at them, because Severus had to kill Albus. But he had no choice and Albus and him had already agreed on doing it this way instead of having Draco killing him. It was fortunate that Albus would have died anyways through the curse on the ring, so they could play along with Voldemort's plans. I know, this sounds horrible, but I think, Albus was secretly pleased that things developed that way. Severus knows everything about the lessons that you received from Albus last year. It would be a good idea to sit down together with Draco and Severus to figure out how to proceed from here." That had been a very long speech for her, but Harry had listened intently.

"Can I see them?" he asked.

"Let me get them and then you can talk. But before that I would like to clarify a few things, now that you know about my status as your godmother." Narcissa looked at Harry and he suddenly had a hopeful expression on his face.

"Well, as your godmother, on the day after your parents' death I received a letter from Gringotts with the will of your parents. Your godfather, Sirius, was not availably since he at that time was chasing Pettigrew and then he got thrown into Azakaban without a trial, so the goblins couldn't give him the will. I went to Dumbledore immediately and told him all the facts."

Harry interrupted her. "Why couldn't he reverse the decision, when he learned of you status as my godmother?" Narcissa looked at him sadly. "He didn't want to place you with Lucius. He was highly suspicious of him at that time. It would have been very hard to keep you from falling into Voldemort's hand, had you lived with us. It broke my heart that I couldn't be there for you, but I had to trust Dumbledore. I couldn't even contact you since Dumbledore told me of the deep mistrust your relatives have against magic. But I don't think he knew exactly what you had to go through." She was silent for a moment, but then she pulled her chair closer to him and put an arm around his shoulders.

"Now, everything will change. I will tell you the content of the will and we will take matters into our own hands now. Together with Severus and Draco we will fight Voldemort and I think, with the information, Dumbledore gave you in your lessons, you three will be able to defeat him, I am sure of that." She squeezed his shoulders reassuringly and the snipped her fingers. A house elf appeared in front of them.

"What can I do for mistress?" he squeaked.

"Please fetch me the roll of parchment that is in the upper drawer of my nightstand in the master bedroom." The elf nodded and was gone with crack. Seconds later he returned with a scroll in his hands. It was bound with a silver ribbon and the seal of Gringotts hang off from one end. Harry became very excited. He had not known of a will from his parents. He had just assumed that everything had been consumed by the explosion that had destroyed his parents' house in Godric's Hollow. Now he would finally know what his parents had in store for him.

Narcissa took the scroll from the elf and opened it. She turned to Harry.

"First, I am to tell you, when you are old enough, about Peverell Manor, which lies in the Scottish Highlands. It is unplottable and the oldest such property in the Wizarding World. The reason for this is the fact that your family descends from the Peverell family which is, together with the families of the founders of Hogwarts, the oldest Wizarding family in the world. The Peverell Family in their time was to the wizards what the Royals nowadays are to the Muggles. It was forgotten that they are the ancestors of the Potter family. The male line of the family died out during the 18th century, but was continued through the female lines. Your grandmother was a descendant from the Peverell line and it has passed to you through your father." Narcissa was quiet for a moment and let Harry digest all this information.

"Does that mean that I am rich?" Harry asked. Narcissa nodded. "Richer than anybody in the world," she assured him. Harry had to think about that for a while and then said, "Okay, what else?"

Narcissa smiled at him. She returned back to the will.

"You have also inherited Potter Manor, which is situated in the south of England near the white cliffs of Dover. Since the Potter family is also a very old family, you inherit with that title a lot of wealth and property. You inherit also the seats on the Wizengamot for the Potter and the Peverell family, which have now been empty for the last seventeen years. With that comes a lot of prestige and power that you need to use very carefully." She looked at Harry and almost saw the wheels turning in his head. Then he asked. "But why was the Peverell seat empty. Shouldn't my dad have inherited it, as I do now?"

Narcissa thought for a moment. "Your dad did inherit it, but it was reserved for you to now fully claim it. There come other things with the title of the Lord Peverell. for the first, you inherit the famous Invisible Cloak of Ignotus Peverell, your ancestor. Your further inherit the Resurrection Stone and the Elder Wand. Do you know what this means?"

Harry knew about the Invisibility Cloak, of course, but he had no idea about the other two items.

"Where are they now," he asked.

"Nobody knows," Narcissa said. "But Severus has some very serious suspicions about where they could be. You should talk with him about it. But what I wanted to say with this: When you have assembled all three of those items, you will have assembled the Deathly Hallows. These Hallows will make you the master of Death. You won't be able to die, not if you don't want to. You will also have the power to get into contact with deceased people …" Narcissa broke off, when she saw Harry's hopeful and desperate face.

"No, Harry," she said sharply. Harry looked up, suddenly frightened. He hadn't expected such an explosion from her. Narcissa softened immediately.

"Harry," she said gently. "I didn't want to frighten you. But you have to understand. It won't do to get into contact with your dead parents, just because you want to see them. This power is only for very desperate moments. Don't use it lightly, because it can have the worst consequences. The tale is told from the brother of Ignotus, who got the stone from Death itself, that he called back his fiancé who had died, and couldn't get himself to let her go and so he wasted away and in the end killed himself, just to be with her. He didn't appreciate life anymore and that is precisely the danger of that power. You need to appreciate life, the good and the bad moments. It's your decision and you need to make it now, to give you boundaries so that you won't misuse this power. But, to fight evil, real true evil, you can use this power to call the dead and let them fight for you. They will be better and more loyal fighters than any living wizard can ever be."

Harry was very thoughtful after that. Then he said, "So, we need to find the Stone and the Wand. I need to speak with Severus. There are several things that we need to discuss." Narcissa acknowledged that with a nod but she was not finished.

"I want to ask you, if you want to live with us now. I know that you are seventeen and can choose for yourselves now. I don't have legal guardianship over you any longer, but I hope that you will stay with us and get to know me, Draco and Severus a little better. I promise you that we will do everything in our power to help you come to terms with your inheritance and also help in the battle against Voldemort. We don't want you harm."

Harry was silent after that. He stood up, walked over to one of the high-ceilinged windows and stared outside into the grounds. For a long moment he was silent. There was complete silence in the room. Suddenly Harry lifted his head as if he was listening to somebody or something. He started smiling. And then Narcissa heard it also. It was a faint song, the most beautiful song, she had ever heard, and her heart melted. She could not think about their problems anymore, about Voldemort and Lucius, about Harry's problems and the danger he was in, she felt good. She felt happy. And then with a quiet whoosh, Fawkes appeared in the study and went straight to Harry. Harry lifted one arm and Fawkes landed on it. He looked at Harry with his huge round eyes and blinked once. Harry looked back and then laughed. This laughter was so addicting, that Narcissa also started laughing. When they had ended, Harry conjured up a perch for Fawkes and the bird hopped on it.

"He says, he would like to stay with me for a while. He didn't specify, how long the "while" is, but I get the feeling that he is looking for another human to bond with and I am his first choice. I thanked him, of course, for this honor and asked if he could help us with the task, Dumbledore set me to do. He confirmed that and now I have a new familiar." He sounded very proud about that. Narcissa too was very surprised, for she knew that phoenixes normally bonded with a human for life and when this human died than the phoenix would die, too. Fawked didn't, and this indicated that Dumbledore had arranged that before his death.

"That was quite surprising," Narcissa said after a moment or two. "Now let's get on with the will."

"Is there more?" Harry asked, amazed. "This has already been so much!" he exclaimed.

"Well, not that much. The house in Godric's Hollow is yours now too, the house at Grimmauld place is yours after Sirius's death and everything that belonged to the Black family." Narcissa said and stood up.

"I do hope that I could explain everything to you in a satisfactory way. We need to stay low for the moment and we must hope that Voldemort won't come here to the Manor for the time being, because that would complicate matters hugely."

Harry also stood up. There was an awkward pause, but suddenly he stepped up to the blond woman and hugged her. "Thank you," he said. "Thank you for explaining everything to me and making me feel welcome for once in my life. And yes, I would very much like to stay here." He stepped back and Narcissa had to blink rapidly so that the tears wouldn't flow freely. This move surprised her more than anything. How could a child express so much love and forgiveness after what he had been through? She couldn't believe it and it amazed her, what power Harry already had over her. Just through his amazing ability to love, she thought. Yes, this was definitely the right way. It would not be the easiest way to get rid of Voldemort, but it would be well worth it.

**Author's note: I hope you liked the talk between Narcissa and Harry. Please review so that I know what you like, what you dislike, so that I can erase any future mistakes.**


	3. Chapter 3

**I am just playing with J.K. Rowlings world. All characters, places, names and things recognizable belong to her and her alone.**

**Thank you for the reviews and interests in the story, I still hope to update as fast as possible.**

Chapter Three

"I will go and send Severus in now," Narcissa said and started walking to the door. Harry stopped her. "Please tell Draco that I would like him to be there too. And I would like you to hear everything too. You are my godmother now, so I guess that qualifies you to worry about me now." He sent her a lopsided grin that made him look very handsome, Narcissa thought. She smiled back at him and nodded.

A few moments later, Narcissa returned with Severus and Draco to Harry's bedroom. Severus and Draco hesitated a little bit with entering, but Harry sat on his bed and beckoned them in with a smile.

"Please come in. I would like to talk with both of you. Narcissa will also stay. She needs to hear everything we need to talk about."

Severus, Draco and Narcissa came in. Narcissa closed the door, went over to the seats beside the window and gracefully sat down. Severus had already conjured out of thin air two comfortable chairs for Draco and himself and both of them had sat down opposite of Harry. There was a moment of silence.

Then Harry cleared his throat. "I guess that you know what Narcissa just told me. I mean, the things that were in my parents' will." Draco and Severus nodded. "Well, then you know that I need to come to terms with all this business of being Lord of a powerful and wealthy Wizarding Family. I never learned how to deal with that. I don't know how to handle all the finances and all the legal stuff that comes with it. This is one thing that we need to talk about. I need help with that. The next thing that is important for us to figure out is how to defeat Voldemort. I know now that you two," and with that Harry pointed to Draco and Severus, "are on my side. But to be victorious against Voldemort, we need to stand united. We need to trust each other completely. Severus," he indicated towards the Potions Master, "can you explain to me why you hated me so much in school? I know some reasons from Dumbledore's memories but not everything. I would like to hear it in your own words." Somehow Harry spoke with authority in his voice. Narcissa was startled and she saw that Draco and Severus also had a puzzled look on their faces. It was almost like they were compelled to do what Harry told them to do. He probably wasn't aware of the fact, but he behaved unconsciously every inch how a Lord from a powerful family should behave.

Severus nodded. "I will try. I see that you automatically started calling me Severus. I like that, because it shows that you trust me. Now, you probably know that mother and I grew up in the same neighborhood." Harry nodded. "Well, I liked her from the very first moment I put my eyes on her. I followed her around, because I was too shy to contact her. That's when I saw her do magic, which then made me bold and we started being friends. As you know, when we came to Hogwarts, she was sorted into Gryffindor and I into Slytherin. First we tried to maintain our friendship but it was severely strained through the many pranks your father and his cronies played on me, because they were convinced that I was dark wizard, just because of Slytherin. Your mom stood up to them, but then this fatal incident happened, which you saw in the Pensieve and I snapped. I tried to get her forgiveness, but it was too late and happiness ended for me right then and there. That's when I contacted Lucius and offered my services to the Dark Lord. I didn't think he would go after your mother, though, because she was Muggleborn. But then you were born and the prophecy was made and the Dark Lord took store in the prophecy and marked you as your equal. You also know that it was I who brought the content of the prophecy to the Dark Lord. I regret that. I never regretted anything more in my life than this single thing that I had done. I still loved your mother, even though I understood that she could not forgive me for what I had done. I never wanted her killed. So when the death happened I went to Dumbledore. He performed Legilimency on me and I let him. I wanted him to know that I totally and completely renounced the Death Eater ways. Since then I benefited from his protection. He kept me out of Azkaban. He gave me a job in my favorite subject. But I had to agree being a double spy the moment the Dark Lord would return. I agreed to all his terms. And he had been good to me. I wanted to like you, when you came to Hogwarts, but Dumbledore reminded me of all my ties to the former Death Eaters. It would not be good for me, if they would see that I liked you. It would have blown my cover. That's why I've been so mean to you. And I have to admit, you looking like James Potter, made the job a lot easier, because I just imagined you being a small version of James. I apologize now. I know I was mean to you and to all the Gryffindors. But I hope you understand that I had to. I couldn't even let you know that it was all an act. I had to be convincing, so you suffered but so did I. Several times I almost went to Dumbledore to tell him that I couldn't go on with this, but each time I saw Lily in front of me and that reminded me that we each have a part to play in the plan to defeat the Dark Lord. Now, in the beginning of last year, Narcissa came to me to plead for help for Draco. I again had to be convincing, because Bellatrix was there. She made us do the Unbreakable Vow. You know that it's deadly, if you break it, so this was very risky. But I knew something, that neither Narcissa nor Bellatrix knew. I already knew that Dumbledore was doomed to die because of the curse on the ring. So that's when the plan started forming in our heads. I would try to help Draco reaching his goal and Dumbledore would do his best to tell you everything he knew about Voldemort and the Horcruxes. In the end, Dumbledore wanted me to kill him. He said that it would not maim my soul, because I would help an old man end his sufferings. So I did. You couldn't know this, because you didn't trust me then. But now you know. And we need to figure out, where the rest of the Horcruxes are and how to get rid of them." Severus finally was finished. This had been one long tale and Harry had patiently listened to it. He had never heard Severus talk for such a long time. And he probably never would again. This was a very personal and private moment, a moment, where every on of them opened up his soul for the others and didn't hold back with their feelings. Harry knew that this was necessary. "Thank you, Severus, for being so honest with me," he said. "Now Draco, what about you?"

Draco was clearly gathering his thoughts. Then he started. "I don't have that much to tell. You know that I didn't like you from the start. My father had implanted in me a desire to be better than anybody else and that Purebloods are superior to Halfbloods and Muggleborns. I never knew anything else, since my mom never was allowed to instruct me or to be alone with me. I guess my dad somehow was suspicious of her and her motives. But ever since he has been in Azkaban after the fiasco at the Ministry, she had tried to slowly lead me back into light and first now, after the death of Dumbledore, she told me the whole truth. So now I fully understand what is going on and I will support you wholeheartedly. You have my word and wizard oath on this." He stopped speaking and looked expectantly at Harry.

Harry looked around at each one of the three. Then he said, "We should each give an oath of not betraying each other's trust. I think, this is the most important thing for us in this little group. I would like to get Ron and Hermione into this too, because they already know about the Horcruxes and Hermione is not the smartest witch of our age for nothing. She would be extremely worth having in the fight against Voldemort. Ron is very impulsive, but he is my best friend and he stood with me in all my hard times, so I want him to be included." The three of them nodded, even though Draco scowled a little at the mentioning of Ron. Harry continued. "I want to help the Weasleys. They had been family for me when I had none, so I owe them. I know, they will first resist the help, but I hope that I can convince them. Now, onto other things. Draco, I would like you to help me getting to grips with the finances and managing of big estates. I guess that your father taught you in all this?" Draco nodded. Harry seemed satisfied. "Well, than we will speak, when this meeting is over. Severus, how much do you know about the Horcruxes of Voldemort?" Severus was thoughtful. "Well, the diary was one and the ring. That's two down. Dumbledore said something about five others." He wanted to continue, but Harry lifted his arm. "Wait, five others? He told me of four Horcruxes." "Ah," said Severus, "Dumbledore didn't tell you then. Well, he wasn't planning to." Harry was perplexed. "What didn't Dumbledore tell me, Severus?" Severus was silent for a long time. Finally he said, "I don't know if you want to hear this. It is not pretty." When Harry stayed silent and just looked at him, he continued, "But you need to know so that you can make your decision. You are the fifth Horcrux, Harry. Voldemort did not intend to turn you into one, rest assured, but invariably it happened on the night he killed your parents. The Horcrux is in you and that is why you are so closely connected and cannot get him out of your head. Now that I know of this I understand, why you couldn't occlude so well. The Horcrux prevented you from doing this. He is still preventing you from reaching your full potential, that is why I always thought you were mediocre at best in school. We need to find a way to get the Horcrux out of your body without destroying you in the process. But first we will get rid of all the other Horcruxes. I know of Hufflepuff's cup and of Ravenclaw's diadem. We can't do anything now about Nagini and I don't know anything about Slytherin's locket. But maybe you know more?"

Harry had almost panicked when he heard Severus' revelations regarding the Horcruxes. He was himself a Horcrux. That's why he felt so evil and bad at times. No wonder, he had a piece of Voldemort's soul in him. Well, he thought, if I have to die than I at least will take Voldemort down with me. He looked up to Severus, who had stood up from his chair and stood right beside his bed. He smiled at him. "That is good to know. We definitely have to find a way, because I don't feel like giving up life in the moment. It feels so good right now. And it gives us an advantage over Voldemort. He doesn't know about this Horcrux, so we can play with him." Harry grinned evilly to Narcissa, Draco and Severus. "But Harry," Narcissa cut in, "aren't you scared?" "Of course I am scared, Narcissa," Harry answered. "But it won't do to put the head in the sand, right? We need to fight and so we will take Voldemort down, one Horcrux at the time and then, in the end, I know that we will find means to destroy the Horcrux in me without killing me in the process. There has to be a way. Since I am Master of Death, I can't die, right? That reminds me, Severus. Do you know anything about the Resurrection Stone and the Elder Wand?" To his delight, Severus nodded. "The Resurrection Stone in in the headmaster's office in Hogwarts. It was concealed in the ring, which was a Horcurx. That is the reason why Dumbledore was so foolish to put the ring on. He knew that it was the stone and since he lost his beloved sister when she was very young. He felt responsible for her death and wanted to see her again to tell her, how sorry he was, and so he disregarded the traps that were on the ring and put it on. Foolish on the one hand, but good on the other hand, because that enabled us to get Draco out of the impossible task and me out of the Unbreakable Vow. I wonder, if Dumbledore deliberately planned this…" his voice trailed off, but then he caught himself again. "Dumbledore was the owner of the Elder Wand. He took it from Grindelwald, when he fought him back in 1945. He planned on dying undefeated and so break the vicious and cruel streak in the Wand, but that didn't happen. Draco here disarmed him, so the wand belongs to Draco right now. But you are the rightful heir, and so we need to get our hands on the wand and you need to disarm Draco so that you get the loyalty of the Wand. That is very important, since you need every source of strength you can get against the Dark Lord. Even without his Horcruxes he will be a formidable opponents, since he is very well versed in the Dark Arts and knows things, other wizards would never dream of doing or even knowing. But how to get into possession of the two items?" They were thinking on this, when there suddenly was a loud crack. All four of them jumped. A house elf appeared, looking very agitated.

"Mistress, there has been a break-out of Azkaban and Master is on its way. Master mustn't find Harry Potter here. Master is dangerous for Harry Potter." Narcissa looked shocked. "Severus," she said urgently. But Harry had already taken control over the situation. "Severus, Draco, you need to convince Lucius and Voldemort that you are still loyal to the Dark Lord. Narcissa, play your game with Lucius. It is of vital importance that they don't know that you are in contact with me. Can you all occlude?" They nodded. "Good. That is very important. I will go to Peverell Manor together with Fawkes. It is impenetrable, so Voldemort will have no chance of getting me there. Fawkes will have means to contact you without Voldemort knowing. Take care, my friends, and we will talk soon." With that Harry took hold of Fawkes, and with a flash they were gone.

**Now the action starts and it gets more exciting. Next up will be the meeting with Voldemort and Lucius and Harry will explore Peverell Manor. **

**Let me know what you think. I live for reviews and constructive criticsm.**


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